A lovely surprise, and stitching blahs

I had to stitch a model this past week so not as much time for my own stitching.  White waiting for the model supplies to come, I worked on two things.  First, And They Sinned.

Just got a bit more done.  Here's the part I'm working on.

Loraine and I also worked on the next page for our SAL on the Toy Chest Etui.  This time it was the drum waxer.  So cute!

Then came the model stitching.  And now I'm having the stitching blahs.  lol!  I think model stitching is bad for my stitching health.  :D

I got a lovely surprise in the mail from Anne of Doll's Musings.  Totally unexpected, and what a way to brighten my day!  Here's what came.

And here is what was inside the package.

Isn't it lovely?  I was so touched by Anne's gift.  And Anne, the chocolates made it in fine shape -- and disappeared fast.  lol!  Thank you so much, Anne!  I've so enjoyed getting to know you through our blogging!  And I think Mia is enjoying finding out about Titus through smelling my little pinpillow.  :D  Mia says hello!

The boy child has heard from all the colleges he applied to now.  He got accepted to eight out of ten schools, including the music school he wants to go to.  But he also got into one of the colleges he really wants to go to as well.  So now he has to make a decision -- music college or regular college?  We are on pins and needles waiting for his decision.  It's a tough choice.

A while back we got Mia a new scratching post.  It's nice and tall and has a great sisal surface that she loves to use.  Well, it turns out she also likes to perch on it sometimes.

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week and a happy Easter!

40 count, here I come! And a late TUSAL report

Yay, Jane Pattison is finished!  I can go back to 40ct!

Jane Pattison by Shakespeare's Peddler

32ct vintage Navy Bean

Gentle Art Simply Wool fibers called for

Isn't she pretty?

Various blogging friends were asking how I like the wools.  Well, they were a nice change.  Definitely thicker than silks or cottons, but thinner than knitting wool.  You have to use shorter lengths, like you do with Belle Soie or Gloriana -- since the wool tends to fray on the end in the needle.  But it stands up fairly well in general.  The red does show a bit of fuzz as one stitches that I could do without, but nothing serious and no bleeding onto the fabric at all.  And yes, it's thick enough that one can't use a higher count than 32ct fabric.  35 or 36ct would probably be too tight a fit.  Overall I enjoyed the experience, but I'm not running out to use them again unless they are called for in a design.  Then I suppose I might consider it.  You also have to keep in mind that I don't have a large overdyed cotton stash -- if I had had all the overdyed equivalents of cotton in my stash, I might not have gone for the wools.    But I'm glad I tried them.  They really do give the piece a special look, don't you think?

Loraine and I agreed to do a very small part of our Toy Chest SAL this time around.  So here's the button box lid.

Fascinating, right?  :D

Also, I'm late for my TUSAL for the month.  Totally slipped my mind last week.  Here it is.

The wools take up more space than the other fibers.  lol!

I was naughty and bought a few things recently.  Marly was selling some sweet sampler boxes, and I couldn't resist getting a set.

Pretty, right?  And they're just so nice!  Love them!

And have I shown you my stitching wallet collection recently?  Bought a new one the other day from Natalia at Stitching-4-Joy.

I'm so happy to have the ones with the French General and BBD Blueberry Crumble fabrics!  I love them all though.

Mia was enjoying the weather so much last week.  (It's become chilly again this week, so no more open windows for now.)

This was the first time I've seen the silly thing sleep in the window.  lol!  She loved the sunshine!

The college acceptances have started coming in.  The boy child has been accepted to 6 colleges so far!  (He applied to a lot of colleges.  lol!)  And the best news is that two of them were high on his list too, especially one of them.  We are still waiting to hear from that music college he's interested in.  If he gets accepted there, a tough decision is ahead.  Fingers crossed!

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I so appreciate your comments and really enjoy visiting with blogging friends.  I hope you all have a great week!

Eighteen

How did it happen?  My youngest child, turning 18.  No longer the little tyke playing with Thomas the Tank Engine or watching Winnie the Pooh, but a young man with facial hair and a double bass to cradle.

You must excuse me while I go down memory lane.

My cute 3 month old with the chubby cheeks.

I still remember having to reach through some hole or other in the prop to hold onto your straps in the back so you wouldn't fall over.

Your first birthday.  Notice the little mark next to your eye?  That was from a tumble you took down the back door stairs.  (And yes, I made that quilt in the background.  It was given to your cousin as a baby quilt -- he's 13 months younger.)

You always had a smile on your face when you were little.  You made up for it later with all the non-smiley pictures you took as an older boy.

I've always loved this picture of you.  How cute is that hair cut?  Do you remember you used to cry when you got your hair cut?  Do you remember the tickle machine?

This picture was taken after we'd finally gotten someone to admit you had  strabismus.  The glasses were to help with the problem.  Remember how you had surgery to correct the strabismus on your 4th birthday?  We tried to present it to you as an adventure.  And all the time I was freaking out.

We're jumping ahead here.  My gosh, I'd forgotten how cute you were at 10!

Yup, you went through braces.  Desperately needed.

Graduation from middle school.  By this age, you'd tacitly stopped wearing your glasses despite being far sighted.

Always with the music.

And sometimes with the paintball.  (This picture was taken by one of our good friends' kids -- who is also good friends with our kids.)

One of your graduation pictures, taken last spring.  Why do they take senior pictures in spring of junior year??

Another senior picture.  Such a handsome fellow!

Had to stick this one from college auditions in again.  :D  A boy and his bass.

You are busy today -- your  birthday -- with school, followed by hs musical rehearsal, followed by a quick dinner and then jazz rehearsal.  Good thing you managed to party out all weekend instead.  It was a nice coincidence that a lot of your college age friends were home for spring break, so you could celebrate in style.

Then you deigned to celebrate with your parents on Sunday.  Here you are with your birthday cake, a couple of days early.

Mia, of course, was watching the festivities.  :D

But today, of course, is your real birthday.  My spring baby.  Happy spring.  Happy 18th birthday.  You get to vote this year, kid!  Unbelievable.

Here's wishing all your dreams come true.  Happy 18th.  I love you, mister.

See Jane run....

Ok, maybe Jane isn't running.  lol!  But she sure is pretty!

Jane Pattison by Shakespeare's Peddler

32ct vintage Navy Bean

Simply Wool fibers from the Gentle Art

It's very strange for me to be stitching on 32ct fabric, but I wanted to try the Simply Wool fibers.  It's fun so far.  But I have to say I'm missing stitching on 40ct.

Jane is worth it though, don't you think?

And here is the next part of the Toy Chest Etui.  This is the primer pincushion, I think.  (I'm having a senior moment.)

I think Loraine and I are both struggling to enjoy stitching this one for our SAL.  Which is too bad -- it really is a wonderful piece.

Mia has been enjoying the lovely spring-like weather we've been having.

Here she is waving to the boy child out the window.

Such cuties!

And here are the two children relaxing and watching TV.

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead!

My lovelies for the day

Here is Mary Roe all finished.  I just adore her!

Mary Roe by the Scarlett House

40ct Meadow Rue linen

Belle Soie called for

She was such a fun stitch!

And I couldn't resist a little piece from market from Blackbird Designs, their limited edition kit, Wild Garden.

Blackbird Designs Wild Garden

fabric and fibers in kit

Isn't it pretty?  I think I might make it into a pillow or something.  We'll see.  I squeezed all three of my initials on the top instead of just two, so I moved the little button to a different place.  And yes, there's one little mistake that I refuse to undo.  My Amish error.  lol!  Can you see it?  Oh well.

Carmen of Cardan Antiques and Needlework had a giveaway of prizes she gathered from Nashville market.  And I won one of the prizes!!

It's a lovely little A&E pincube!  Isn't it great?  I just love it!  Thanks so much, Carmen!

Here are my two snugglebugs snuggling.  I don't think Mia liked it particularly.  lol!

And here's Mia enjoying a snuggle sandwiched between a couple of pillows.  Silly girl!

I know it's Sunday instead of my usual Monday.  Pretty weird, huh?  lol!  I just finished Wild Garden so I figured I'd do a post right now for a change.  Hope everyone in the US remembered to spring forward.  Ugh -- I'm so not looking forward to waking up in the dark again.  Hey government people, how about putting the time change back to where it used to be??  Please?????

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a lovely week!

Mary Mary

So here is Mary Roe so far.  I have just the words to go.  Yay!

Isn't she gorgeous?  She's by the Scarlett House.  Tanya outdid herself this time!

BeckySC has generously let me count this as a BAP for her BAP Challenge.  It's about time I got around to that!

If you hop on over to Tanya's blog at The Scarlett House, you'll find a very small correction to the chart there involving the rice stitch hills.

Robin at Threads of Memory had a very lovely giveaway a while back, and I won one of the prizes!  It was a package of sampler charts and they're all so great!  Here is a pic of the stash.

Sorry about the reflection.  Thank you so much, Robin!  I love my prize!

Finally, of course, there's Mia.  She's always a helpful creature.  Here she is helping the father type out when he was working from home one day.

And of course, Mia loves boxes.  Well, she even loves very small boxes!  lol!

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a wonderful week.  My thoughts are with those who were devastated by the tornadoes last week.